|
 WATCH THIS FIRST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkXeMoBPSDk Who Is America? is a comedy on Showtime by Sacha Baron Cohen, aka creator of the original "My wife!" line Scott Aukerman references a lot (and I guess he's done other things?). This is his first show in almost 15 years, since the massive success of Da Ali G Show in 2000-04, and it follows the same format as that programme, where Baron Cohen disguises himself as ridiculous, outlandish figures and poses with real figures (this time, almost entirely from the world of American politics), and tries, usually extremely successfully, to get them to endorse, agree with, or otherwise tolerate his absurd satirical nonsense. Characters shown so far are Billy Wayne Ruddick Jr., Ph.D., a far-right lunatic with a website called TRUTHBRARY, Dr. Nira Cain-N'Degeocello, a liberal activist and straight, white cis man (for which he apologises), Rick Sherman, an ex-convict who makes art out of poo poo and semen, and of course Erran Morad, an Israeli anti-terrorism expert who manages to convince several prominent Republican figures to endorse a fictional program arming children as young as two or three. It's batshit. I thought the first half of the first episode was very hit and miss - and the whole 'gonna mock both sides!' thing really doesn't work so well in the current climate - but the second half (ie the video above) is utterly incredible and one of the best things he's ever done. I absolutely cannot wait to see more - it's certainly a lot better than fuckin' Grimsby. Who Is America? airs on Sundays at 9pm ET/PT.
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2018 21:21
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 1, 2024 18:44 |
|
|
FYI Truthbrary is a real site, of course.
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2018 21:33
|
|
|
Was I the only one that got super mad when the young Republican said "You want me to take that position on national television?" Like he'd be down to hold it privately.
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2018 21:50
|
|
|
The art gallery thing didn't do much for me. I've never been into fecal humor, which is probably why I never got into a lot of the Jackass stuff either. It kind of feels like South Park in a way where the "line" of parody got crossed over by this Presidency to such a ridiculous degree that even things like the fake 'guns for kindergartners' campaign here, don't actually feel outrageous enough. Like, I don't believe for a minute that a republican candidate could run with that as a platform and lose voters because everyone is so polarized in their camps right now. I'm curious to see what else he can come up with to troll people with though because I did find the Sanders skit good dumb humor and the reaction of the conservatives during the dinner scene to him explaining he was being cuckolded by a Dolphin was great.
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2018 23:10
|
|
|
PaybackJack posted:The art gallery thing didn't do much for me. I've never been into fecal humor, which is probably why I never got into a lot of the Jackass stuff either. I loved that bit, and she didn't come out of it looking bad I don't feel. I linked an article that had bits of her reaction in couch thread, but here's a fuller thing. https://www.washingtonpost.com/busi...m=.472fc4f55e86 "What were you thinking as he’s describing, in incredibly graphic detail, how he made art in a jail cell?" "I thought it was fascinating; I really did. Even now, I know now it’s fake, but I still think a lot of the ideas are real. Art is what we say it is. Is it art for rain to fall on the sidewalk in a certain way? Some would say tears dropping down on a love letter is art. Is this art? Someone who is stuck in prison, and they put their whole heart into something? I’d love to have that argument."
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2018 23:38
|
|
|
I'm glad this show is on Showtime, because I'm 100% sure that art gallery owner would get ridiculed and harassed out of business (or something worse) if this show had a much wider audience.
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2018 23:41
|
|
|
This show is a masterpiece if only for that Terrorist Terminato power walk, but holy gently caress, that entire gun segment is a masterclass in how incredibly insane American politics is. I don’t know how they top that.
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2018 00:06
|
|
|
I wish I hadn't watched that 10 minute clip yesterday because I didn't know this was only a half hour long show, but still, holy gently caress, I can't believe these people entertain SBC's insanity as much as they do for as long as they do. The stuff he's saying as these characters is just bonkers and the people don't seem to be repulsed enough to leave. In fact some of them actively feed into what he's saying. SBC has done it again and it's amazing 
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2018 02:49
|
|
|
MoaM posted:I'm glad this show is on Showtime, because I'm 100% sure that art gallery owner would get ridiculed and harassed out of business (or something worse) if this show had a much wider audience. No way dude, the art world is batshit. He said he had Banksy's pubic hair on his brush. And as long as Showtime/SBC had done enough to make the existence of the guy plausible that situation came off as completely realistic. Hell, she bought it enough to give him pubes. I'm sure it would have made a lot more sense if we had seen the pre-show pitch where Sacha Baron Cohen's employee went to tell her about this "hot new underground London artist" who "knows Banksy" and produces a few fake articles about his art made to look as if they came from legit sources. The last segment was great and hopefully that's how the show goes from here. Now that Nathan For You exists SBC has a lot of catching up to do.
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2018 03:30
|
|
|
What the gently caress, "Pheromone Blink-182" These are people we have trusted to lead our country...
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2018 03:44
|
|
|
Taintrunner posted:This show is a masterpiece if only for that Terrorist Terminato power walk, but holy gently caress, that entire gun segment is a masterclass in how incredibly insane American politics is. I don’t know how they top that. Yeah that was batshit insane and gave me one of the biggest absurd laughs I can recall at "...and a rudimentary knowledge of mortars." That he was able to find politicians able to get behind "give guns to literal toddlers" is insane to me, but it's been a nice reminder that there are plenty of stupid politicians out there and plenty of one with an extreme hard-on for guns, and I guess he found the ones with an abundance of both traits and exploited the hell out of them. With all the far more famous republicans I've already heard he duped I have to believe this gun stuff will be topped, but drat he set a high bar right out the gate. I want this show to last forever and stand as a testament to how we need to get out poo poo together in a fairly major way and elect qualified and intelligent people.
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2018 04:33
|
|
|
Those loving frosted tips killed me.
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2018 06:12
|
|
|
Assuming the whole thing wasn't staged, the art gallery lady was great and the way she handled the situation loving ruled.
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2018 08:29
|
|
|
Elentor posted:Assuming the whole thing wasn't staged, the art gallery lady was great and the way she handled the situation loving ruled. Yeah she was really cool, she came off better than even Bernie lmao edit: nobody really knows who he is enough to instantly know what's going on so I don't know why he goes so far with the prosthetics for some of the characters. I mean the NPR guy looked like an actual movie monster and it was distracting. Overall that was my least favorite because he went a little too ridiculous with the "bathroom camera" deal and then the loving dolphin sex. And he didn't really bait them into saying anything too funny. precision fucked around with this message at 09:57 on Jul 17, 2018 |
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2018 09:53
|
|
|
I assume they end up filming a ton of footage where people don't buy his poo poo and what ends up in the show is just the funny fraction of the material. That said this was great, i too thought the art lady was cool - either she was on to it (though probably not based to that article) or just was willing to go full retard with the crazy artist. The last segment was kind of spoiled by all the clips that were popping up in the days before but it was still pretty 
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2018 15:26
|
|
|
That art lady just bought a huge amount of goodwill playing along. That was awesome and it's pretty clear she was willing to at least consider ANY interpretation of art. I can respect that. The Republicans believing that liberals can be ducked by dolphins is also hilarious.
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2018 19:36
|
|
|
precision posted:Yeah she was really cool, she came off better than even Bernie lmao It felt like they put a few silly segments first - he's the one saying stupid stuff and the others are trying to put up with him and be polite and accommodating. We expect the whole episode to be like that, which makes the impact of the gun segment stronger.
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2018 23:37
|
|
|
It just hit me, the art dealer lady was basically Leslie Knope of the Art World
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2018 03:34
|
|
|
Taintrunner posted:This show is a masterpiece if only for that Terrorist Terminato power walk, but holy gently caress, that entire gun segment is a masterclass in how incredibly insane American politics is. I don’t know how they top that. The power walk slayed me. Also the maximum manspread.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2018 10:07
|
|
|
Orange Devil posted:The power walk slayed me. Also the maximum manspread. It's so on the mark it's scary. The new episode tonight should be just as incredible if they can one-up THE TERRORIST TERMINATO
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2018 16:35
|
|
|
I found the faux-left guy really boring because SBC's gimmick is a lot more fun when he's getting people to dig their own graves. If he's just listing a load of ridiculous stuff to people and they're going "Oh that's terrible" then where's the joke? His Israeli Army Guy was fun though and was easily the best bit of the show.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2018 19:01
|
|
|
I think because it’s a series and not a film they won’t be as eager to cut the fat, which is a shame. I think about something like Nathan For You and making that show must create so much useless footage but every episode is so tight, it’s incredible.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2018 20:12
|
|
|
Taear posted:I found the faux-left guy really boring because SBC's gimmick is a lot more fun when he's getting people to dig their own graves. If he's just listing a load of ridiculous stuff to people and they're going "Oh that's terrible" then where's the joke? Agreed. The old Borat method of making people uncomfortable just pales in comparison to the ridiculous stuff Morad got those guys to go along with. That said, Dr. Nira could easily be used to trick liberals into saying equally outlandish things. I'm willing to bet there are some out there that would support his wife's bestiality or children's toilet directives.
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2018 01:56
|
|
|
Tonight's episode was much better than the first. Jesus, some people.
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2018 03:43
|
|
|
The first 10 mins of this show tonight was one of the most amazing things I’ve seen on television.
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2018 04:04
|
|
|
i fuckin missed the first part but the fact that he's getting her to improve is amazing
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2018 04:10
|
|
|
Whitey is all too quick to drop the hard R when they seen an opening. EDIT: lol https://www.ajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/lawmaker-duped-sacha-baron-cohen-this-why-trump-won/t4MGGDybLya3zuId1miJqM/ quote:Spencer, who was defeated in the May GOP primary, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution the show’s producers “took advantage of my fears that I would be attacked by someone” to convince him to appear on what he believed to be a training video for “elected officials who may be targeted by terrorists.” CBD Corndog fucked around with this message at 04:18 on Jul 23, 2018 |
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2018 04:10
|
|
|
Did Nathan Fielder have a writing/directing credit on the first episode? Because he had both on this one. That last setup had me howling
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2018 04:27
|
|
|
We don't even want black people here!
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2018 04:28
|
|
|
That was incredible. Every bit was great, but the first 10 minutes and the Cheney interview were some next level stuff. Hopefully the best footage is yet to come.
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2018 04:34
|
|
|
I sorta want to know how many town meetings they had to propose a mosque to to get that one. And I'm afraid the answer is one.
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2018 04:36
|
|
|
I'm not even five minutes in and I have had to stop because I'm gasping and am in actual loving shock. Oh my god. Oooohhhh my god.
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2018 04:38
|
|
|
This is amazing. The first episode was ok. But this just stepped it up a few dozen levels. The guy from Georgia was... wow. He was way too excited about getting to yell the N word. Then that last crowd.. Holy poo poo. I died laughing. Also, holy poo poo. There is a post credits scene that is amazing.. Mother fucker dug his own grave with this. Sammus fucked around with this message at 05:40 on Jul 23, 2018 |
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2018 04:54
|
|
|
I can't believe that woman talked about the charity all the way through.
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2018 05:17
|
|
|
Holy gently caress that great 'Remember, when you launch a grenade you launch a dream' I also think that Borst getting rednecks to sing about throwing Jews down the well is now going to take a back seat to that end segment in terms of exposing disgusting rednecks for being trash humans. Nairbo fucked around with this message at 06:44 on Jul 23, 2018 |
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2018 05:52
|
|
|
a helpful bear posted:We don't even want black people here! “I’m racist! I’m racist against Muslims!”
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2018 06:54
|
|
|
That Corinne girl must have been on to the joke at some point... or do people just turn their brains off entirely while reading from a cue card?
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2018 06:55
|
|
|
Vlonald Prump posted:That Corinne girl must have been on to the joke at some point... or do people just turn their brains off entirely while reading from a cue card? Are you allowed to have brains and also appear on The Bachelor? I've never seen it for more than 5 minutes but I never got the impression that anyone with a brain was allowed on there during my brief history with it.
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2018 06:57
|
|
|
lol
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2018 06:57
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 1, 2024 18:44 |
|
|
The reaction to the Clinton Foundation funding 5% of the mosque was equal parts hilarious and also hilariously predictable. I need more of this show in my life immediately.
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2018 07:30
|
|